Saturday, July 26, 2008

I posted an entry at the beginning of 2008 about goals and objectives that I must accomplish before the year ends. Now, I'm not really big on making resolutions for the new year, but I never have done this before my entire life since I believe that resolutions are meant to be broken. More than half the year have passed and it's time to revisit the wishes I have committed myself into doing this 2008:

watch all David Cronenberg, David Lynch, and Stephen Chow films

Since I've gotten busier throughout the years, I've decided to cut down on watching movies to save time and get more things done. I don't mind purchasing pirated DVDs from black markets despite their quality, but there are other better things for me to do at this point in time. So there.

read five of the penned 'Great American Novels': The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick, To Kill A Mockingbird, Grapes Of Wrath, The Scarlet Letter

Although I haven't read any of the titles above, buying the Scarlet Letter just recently nevertheless puts me on track with this list. There's just a lot of great books that I've been getting into (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Maurkami, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, and Misfortune by Wesley Stace) that the classics have been put on hold. In time, my friend. In time.

slowly but surely pick off Pablo Neruda writings off the shelves, in an attempt to bring back my fancy for poetry

I purchased Selected Readings earlier this year, but it seems that plans have changed, unfortunately. After getting accepted in the MA program in Anglo-American Literature at this particular university, my focus seems to have gone to fiction. Of course, I'll still find time for Neruda poetry here and there, but it won't be my priority for years to come.

have Kings of Convenience's "Cayman Islands," "Winning The Battle, Losing The War," "Homesick," "Manhattan Skyline," "I Don't Know What I Can Save You From," "The Weight Of My Words," and "Failure" down pat on the acoustic

You can count "Cayman Islands" in my guitar playlist sine I've been thoroughly playing it since January of this year. However, I can't say the same for the other because I've fallen out from my juice for guitar playing as of late. I don't know, but I can't see myself having memorized all these songs before the year ends.

FINALLY master the chromatic scale and sweep-picking

See above. Seriously, I don't have the discipline for practicing scales and modes on the guitar ever since. Yeah.

have the complete collection of Jim Lee's X-Men, all in .pdf format

The reason I wish to get myself acquainted -- and eventually collect in the future -- comic books is to atone for the comic book collection that I took for granted when I was a kid. Particularly, I wanted to redeem the lost first issue of X-Men Unlimited released in 1992 (I have no idea how much it cost, but let's assume that it's expensive to keep me motivated in my comic pursuits).

Of course, for those who know better, comic files can be read under .cbz format, and Jim Lee's version, although it is the most popular installment of the X-Men series, is certainly not the best. However, as fate would have it, I seem to have turned sour on X-Men and comics in particular because of the continuity issue that spans from decades of stories and plots that I have to acquaint myself in order to fully consume the awesomeness of Wolverine and the gang. Tempting offer, but no thanks. At least for now.

memorize and name parts of the car without even having to look at them, a skill that alpha-males are inherently blessed with

I learned how to handle an overheating car, if that counts. I have learned that I am simply not an automobile person and therefore cannot fulfill my [art of this bargain. Sorry.

So there you have it. I've found myself doing a lot lately, which compromised most of my wishes. However, I don't mind, as I can still fulfill these things in the future.